If you’re making plans for your undergraduate education, you may be trying to decide on a major. Many students choose only one major, and perhaps a minor as well. But this isn’t your only option.

Depending on your career goals, you may benefit from pursuing a double major for your bachelor’s degree. A double major may open up more job opportunities and help you expand your knowledge in two different or complementary disciplines. One study published in the Columbia Economic Review found that college graduates with double majors usually earn higher salaries than those with only one major.

But what is a double major, and how do you know if it’s right for you? Read on to learn more.

What Is a Double Major?

Double-majoring means you complete one degree, usually a bachelor’s, in two areas of study. For example, if you double-major in business and finance, you would earn one degree that lists two majors rather than two separate degrees. The two majors are often related, but not always.

When you earn a degree with a major and a minor, your degree focuses primarily on your major. A double major, however, places equal importance on both majors.

Pursuing a double major allows you to grow your knowledge and skills in two separate areas of study, which may open up a wider variety of potential career paths upon graduation.

To earn a double major, you typically need approval from academic advisors in both majors’ departments. Your university may not allow you to apply overlapping courses toward both majors’ requirements, or it may limit how many courses can count toward both majors. Check with your school to see how it approaches double majors.

Double Major vs. Dual Degree

Both double majors and dual-degree programs provide an education covering two disciplines, but these degree paths are different.

As discussed above, a double major results in one diploma with two majors. This differs from a dual degree, which awards two separate degrees, such as a bachelor of arts and a bachelor of science.

You can earn a double major at many schools with only 120 credits—the same number of credits required for a single major. Dual degrees, however, typically require more coursework (around 150 credits or more) since they involve two separate degrees.

Requirements for dual degrees vary quite a bit, so check with your university for its specific policies.

Is a Double Major Worth It?

Whether a double major is worth it for you depends on whether completing two majors would help you achieve your career goals.

For instance, if your goal is to work in corporate leadership, double-majoring in business and finance may be helpful due to the broad array of knowledge required for a corporate leadership career. Likewise, if you plan to run an art gallery or work in a business related to the fine arts discipline, earning a double major in business and fine arts may be beneficial.

Below we explore some common benefits and drawbacks of earning a double major.

Benefits of a Double Major

• You can develop in-depth knowledge in two areas of study rather than in only one discipline.
• You may be qualified for a greater variety of job opportunities.
• You can learn about two different subject areas without earning two separate degrees.
• You may have greater earning potential, especially if your majors include either business or STEM, according to research published in the Columbia Economic Review.

Potential Drawbacks of a Double Major

• You must meet the requirements for both of your majors, including prerequisites and field study requirements.
• Focusing on two different majors may increase your workload if your program requires more than the typical 120 credits of coursework for completion.
• A double major requires a serious commitment of time and energy. If your time management skills aren’t excellent, this may not be the best option for you, especially if your program requires more than 120 credit hours of coursework.

Common Double Majors for Online Learners

If you’re considering a double major, choosing majors that complement each other may help you develop a deeper understanding of each discipline and give you a competitive edge in the job market.

Below, we overview some common double majors for online learners and how the subject areas can work together to help you establish a successful career.

Business Administration and Accounting

A business administration bachelor’s provides the skills needed to understand business fundamentals and operate an organization. Adding an accounting major offers more in-depth knowledge of recordkeeping, taxation accounting, data analysis and other financial management issues that business administrators may need to know.

Business Administration and Public Health

If you plan to work in an administrative position within public health, you might major in both business administration and public health. Together, these majors can prepare you to develop public health policies for government agencies or to manage facilities, staff and operations in public healthcare settings.

Computer Information Systems and Marketing

Technology has become essential to marketing, so it makes sense to learn both the technical and the consumer sides of marketing. By combining a computer information systems major and a marketing major, you can learn marketing fundamentals and technical concepts that apply to businesses, such as designing programs or creating applications that provide insight into consumer behavior.

Economics and Supply Chain Management

Supply chain management focuses on infrastructure issues, such as procurement, fulfillment, logistics and manufacturing. Economics focuses on concepts such as economic growth, policy issues and economic theory. Combining these majors may be helpful if you want to work in procurement or operations management positions.

Marketing and Communications

Double-majoring in marketing and communications majors teaches market analysis, branding, product placement and other marketing fundamentals. This double major would also cover creating and giving presentations, writing, communications theory and other communications skills. These majors pair well together for professionals in the marketing and public relations fields.

Psychology and Criminal Justice

A bachelor’s in criminal justice explores the judicial system, law enforcement, criminology and other related topics. When you add a psychology major to the mix, you gain additional insight into human behavior and motivation. Combining these two majors can give you more perspective as you work with criminals, victims and other individuals within the legal system.

Political Science and Foreign Language

If you want to work in international affairs, politics, public policy or global organizations, a political science major can help you reach your goal. Many of these positions involve working with people from other countries, so learning a foreign language can make you a more competitive candidate for these jobs.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) About Double Majors

Who: Informa Group with The Local Collective for strategy and creative.

What: The branding an out outdoor campaign using unique QR codes for the recent Toronto art fair.

When & Where: The campaign ran in Toronto in the six weeks leading up to the April 13 to 16 art fair, using digital and social assets, as well as OOH and print.

Why: The marketing team behind the Artist Project asked the agency to come up with new visual identity and campaign that would reinvigorate the brand and present the event in a new light.

The typical approach with art fairs and festivals is to highlight the art and the artists, but that makes it difficult to build the brand of the event itself, said Omar Morson creative director, head of design.

“So we chose to solve this challenge by creating something that felt very artful as a solo piece of communication,” he said.

How: The Local Collective created QR codes from words often used by people when reacting to art, such as “fantastic,” “beautiful” and “expressive.” “With QR codes typically being auto-generated, the teams had to carefully handcraft each one until it struck the balance between readability by people and scanners,” said Morson.

The QR codes directed viewers to specific artists, ticket purchases, or various support initiatives, but also stood as works of art in their own right. “Often consumers are used to seeing these codes in the bottom one third of a communication, acting as a sign off or even a URL,” sadi Morson. “By putting so much graphic importance on the code, it caused the desired reaction: More people have interacted with the posters and various communication pieces than we had even hoped for.”

The concept is also part of the broader branded design system that lets the Artists Project brand exist without competition from the artists.

People noticed it was words? “When we did distance testing for legibility, we were surprised how many people commented on the words. In fact, because the QR codes are familiar to most people, seeing the odd “break-ups” of structures made the fact that there are words more noticeable,” said Morson.

It took three decades for Carla Riseman to reconnect with her love of creating art. But now that she’s rediscovered that create spirit, she’s determined to share it with her neighbors in Brookfield.

She’s a little more than halfway through The 100 Day Project, joining a global initiative where artists create art every day for 100 straight days and share the work online with friends and followers.

While the work is available to everyone via social media – her Instagram can be found @thundermoonstudio – Riseman has been placing the small works of art at various spots around the village, giving hints about where they can be found.

Without fail – April 19 marks Day 57 – they get snapped up and very often those seeking out and finding the art explain why they sought out the little 4-by-6 and 5-by-7-inch pieces.

A woman who found Riseman’s Day 40 painting of a peach to mark Colon Cancer Awareness Month in March – important to Riseman because she lost her mother to it – told Riseman that her father had succumbed to colorectal cancer in 2021.

On Day 8, Riseman’s art was a tribute to Audrey Overholt, who along with her husband Roy was synonymous with Brookfield Little League. The Overholts lived across the street from the field bearing Roy’s name. The lights shone on the field all night on March 1, the night of Audrey’s funeral, in her memory.

“I just grabbed this one,” a woman wrote to Riseman that day. “We moved into the Overholts’ old house across the street last summer. It felt fitting we should find this one.”

When she started placing the art around town in February, she had no idea if anyone would even notice, or care. Sharing each day’s art both on her own social media and Brookfield Connections, with its 14,000 followers, has resulted in an enormous response.

“I really thought I was just going to practice every day and get better at making art, and I feel I’ve really gotten connected to Brookfield,” Riseman told the Landmark as she taped her Day 52 entry to the front door of Ms. Clara’s Joyful Learning Center on Broadway Avenue. 

“I’ve been here for 10 years and I have friends, but I’ve met people that I don’t know and that I now talk to every day and are my BFFs,” she said. “That’s really the connection with my town that was the unintended wonderful consequence.

Originally a fine arts major in college, personal circumstances led her to change that focus and she forged a career in human resources and marketing, laying down her sketch pad and paintbrushes, seemingly for good.

Then the COVID-19 pandemic happened. 

Instead of business shutting down where she worked, things were busier than ever. With a 6-year-old daughter having to attend school remotely the work-life balance, as Risemen put it, “had gotten unsustainable.”

“It was the worst,” Riseman said. “She was 6 when it started and so she needed constant supervision.”

Art lessons were asynchronous, so Riseman just started doing them along with her daughter, “just for some happy time.”

“I just noticed, ‘I feel nothing bad while I’m doing this. It’s almost like a drug, like this is fabulous,’” she said.

Having buried her artistic past, she was surprised to see it spring back to life. 

“I don’t know what possessed me. I bought a bunch of watercolors stuff, which is the hardest medium possible when you pick up after not doing anything for decades,” Riseman said.

Sharing some of her work with friends generated positive feedback, so in late 2021 she opened a couple of online shops at RedBubble and Etsy, where she sold original greeting cards.

As 2022 dawned, Riseman started branching out, selling her work a couple of times at the Brookfield Farmers Market before being selected as a vendor for the Brookfield Fine Arts Festival last fall.

“I went there and stuff was just flying off my table and I was just shocked,” Riseman said.

She hopes to return to the Brookfield festival this year, but she already booked two dates to sell her work at the Brookfield Farmers Market – on opening day June 3 and on July 22. 

On Aug. 11, Riseman will have a table at the Wood Dale Sounds of Summer festival and on Aug. 23 she’ll be at the Riverside Farmers Market Artisan Tent.

Plunging back into art has also brought her into contact with other like-minded Brookfield residents. She’s pitched ideas to the Brookfield Beautification Commission regarding public art opportunities and said she hopes to get more involved in those initiatives.

“Even if I was not part of it, I’d love to see more public art in Brookfield,” Riseman said, “but if I could help that happen, that’d really be amazing.”